Independent quality assurance & Skilled Person support
When regulatory scrutiny intensifies, firms can not rely on high-level checklists or superficial sampling. Drawing on senior experience across Section 166 Skilled Person reviews (KPMG, Deloitte, FSCS), institutional remediations and complex advice networks, we provide independent, forensic oversight. From defined benefit pension transfers and SIPP due diligence to complex Ultimate Beneficial Owner (UBO) AML audits, we deliver defensible quality assurance that withstands regulatory and Ombudsman challenge.
Past-business reviews and regulatory remediations are among the most operationally demanding tasks an advisory firm, wealth manager or network principal can undertake. The trigger may be an FCA supervisory notice, a Section 166 appointment, a thematic review or internal risk identification. Whatever it is, the challenge is the same: delivering forensic, consistent analysis across large case volumes without disrupting day-to-day business.
With a background in high-stakes institutional remediations, we design and execute review methodologies that satisfy strict regulatory scrutiny while keeping the advice context grounded in commercial reality.
We support Compliance Directors, Chief Risk Officers and SMF holders on three priorities:
A
Objective: Structured, independent quality assurance to satisfy Skilled Person mandates and regulatory undertakings.
B
Objective: Assessing advice files against COBS suitability standards and Consumer Duty expectations.
C
Objective: Auditing entity structures for full adherence to AML and KYC requirements.
D
Objective: Making sure client detriment is quantified accurately and fairly.
Our structured review lifecycle maintains integrity from initial scoping to final board sign-off.
Review regulatory notices, design the scoring rubric, calibrate reviewer benchmarks.
Evidence reconstruction, fact-find analysis, suitability testing, AML/UBO audit.
Dual-review sample checks, technical SME escalation, determination sign-off.
DISP-compliant response drafting, precise loss calculation, FOS-ready files.
Senior management dashboard, operational process fixes, regulatory submission.
Our expertise is founded on hands-on delivery across major UK financial institutions and regulatory bodies.
Senior reviewer leading entity investigations, group structure analysis and file QA across high-volume insurance and regulatory review programmes.
Direct investigation of suitability complaints, SIPP operator due diligence and redress calculations at the Financial Ombudsman Service.
Leading complaint remediations, writing DISP final responses, reviewing DB transfers and embedding Consumer Duty root-cause MI.
Analysing recommendations for non-standard investments, reviewing EMIR obligations across complex structures and managing executive dispute investigations.
CISI qualified in Pension Transfers & Planning Advice (MCSI), with the technical authority to challenge or defend complex pension recommendations.
Informed by direct experience inside the Financial Ombudsman Service, so our determinations anticipate how adjudicators evaluate fair outcomes.
We work independently or alongside your in-house compliance and legal teams, delivering calibrated, defensible files without excessive operational disruption.
Level 6 technical oversight of DB transfers, multi-scheme consolidations, SIPP due diligence and decumulation, tested against cost, charging and lost-guarantee benchmarks.
Explore this serviceDISP-compliant final responses, evidence-backed Ombudsman submissions and precise loss calculations, informed by direct experience inside the Financial Ombudsman Service.
Explore this serviceWhether you're facing a formal Section 166 review, running a past-business pension audit or clearing a backlog of complex file reviews, contact Compass Compliance Consulting for confidential, senior-level support.